


Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash

by Ornery Otter (Greiver_Dhark)



Category: Naruto
Genre: During the timeskip, Haruno Sakura-centric, No mercy for missing nin, Oto interfering with missions, Sasuke is a traitor, Team 7 nindo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 04:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17501507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greiver_Dhark/pseuds/Ornery%20Otter
Summary: Set during the time skip, but kinda vague. Sakura reconsiders what it means to be on Team Seven, what their nindo stands for and where that puts Sasuke, as more and more Konoha nin return with stories of the Uchiha attacking them during their missions, or don’t return at all.





	Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash

Sakura was beginning to doubt that they were doing the right thing 

Above even loyalty to Konoha, Team Seven valued the first lesson Kakashi had taught them. 

“Those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their friends are worse than trash.” 

All this time they had been trying to ‘bring Sasuke back’, to ‘save’ him even from Orochimaru and himself, because loyalty to the team was the most important thing. Even though Sasuke was a traitor, was working with a traitor against Konoha’s interests, even when he injured Konoha shinobi, people who had been his friends, she, Naruto and Kakashi continued in their efforts to retrieve their teammate. 

She’d heard plenty of gossip about their team in the village, about how shameful they were, since one of their members had betrayed the village and the other was, well, Naruto and all the negative association that came with that. Kakashi too, had bad things said about him and those who worked closely with him, about how he the Village should never have trusted him with something so important as the last Uchiha, should have learned from his father’s failure. 

Sakura was a nobody in the ninja world, and that identity continued to persist despite her newly apprenticed to Tsunade, as those who knew her and those who didn’t questioned her loyalty, as a girl who had been a fangirl of the traitor, with her pitiful crush. 

It hurt, but as the months went on and more and more ninja came back with stories of Sasuke attacking them, interfering with their mission, or of other ninja from Sound doing the same, Sakura had come to question her own position in the situation. 

She and Naruto were so blinkered, as loyal to the Team Seven nindo as they were. Determined to bring back their friend and not seeming to realise that Sasuke nearly killing him and the people they cared about... it wasn’t okay. And it wasn’t going to just be forgiven because he was part of their team. 

That was the problem, she thought, not entirely sure of it. How much of Sasuke’s actions were they going to excuse in the name of bringing him home? If he were anyone else, if they were anyone else, then Sasuke would be executed as a traitor even if he was brought back to Konoha, yet instead that didn’t even seem to be on the table. Whether because of the Uchiha’s value or because Naruto held the Hokage’s favour she didn’t know, but she knew that Naruto especially and Sasuke even moreso, always seemed to be exceptions to every rule. 

Even their own. 

When had he become so important that half of the rules could be stamped on by him to no detriment? No wonder his ego was so inflated, even now he was getting special treatment and no doubt Orochimaru was making that worse – pandering to Sasuke had always been an easy way to manipulate him, even Sakura knew that. 

Still, as she saw yet another team come back from attempting to apprehend Sasuke and his new cronies, some with severe wounds that might well end their ninja careers if not their lives, she didn’t have to wonder why people despised her and her team for their unwavering determination to bring him back. 

“I think we’re making a mistake.” She said to Kakashi, approaching him as he stood staring at the monument like always, his back to her. 

He grunted slightly to show he was listening so she elaborated. 

“Trying to bring Sasuke home. He’s-He’s gone too far sensei.” 

“Those who abandon their friends-” 

“But we’re not, are we?” Her voice broke at the end and Kakashi turned to her properly, frowning. 

“We’re not his friends. We’re not his team, and I don’t think we ever were, not to him.” She’d once thought that not to be the case, that despite his words and poor attitude, he’d always said differently in his actions. He’d worked together in the end, had come to their rescue, but now she was beginning to doubt even that. He’d done what he’d had to do and even that was begrudging at best. Most of their real ‘teamwork’ moments were times of stress where their success, and often survival, required it. 

And then the real clincher. 

“And even if he was, which I’m not so sure about any more. How does it work, when he’s abandoned us? That makes him worse than trash sensei, and while loyalty is important...how many of our friends lives’ are we going to throw away trying to bring him back? How many times is Naruto going to take a chidori to the face, or another Konoha ninja be injured by his actions? He’s abandoned us sensei...” She sniffled, arms wrapped tightly around herself. 

“I’m not sure I can justify my loyalty towards him, over my loyalty and love for my friends and the rest of Konoha.” It was one thing when Sasuke had left, but now? Now he’d actively attacked them, over and over. He’d nearly killed Naruto, had used lethal jutsu against him and other Konoha ninja. He didn’t care about them. Not if he would throw about jutsu like that. He’d been doing it even before he left, against Naruto at least and she could no longer understand how that had seemed dismissible at the time. 

“The fact that he would even use his chidori, an assassination technique against Naruto...” Naruto, who knew so little for all that he was a surprisingly good ninja. Naruto who cared so deeply and obviously, who was determined to get his friend back, even at the cost of his own well being. 

“He doesn’t deserve such loyalty from us.” She said, more firmly now. “When has Sasuke ever shown that he deserved to be part of Team Seven? When did we decide that just becoming a member of our team was more important to us than the actions taken while in it, or out of it?” He may have joined team seven in name, but never in spirit. Sasuke spat in the face of their loyalty and scorned their values and they learned nothing from it because of their own loyalty. It was the reason they’d had to spend so much time doing D-rank missions – because their team work was so lacking. Sasuke could get on with painting a fence on his own, but working with others was a whole other kettle of fish. 

Kakashi just sighed, lowering his eyes from her. He still hadn’t spoken, but she wasn’t sure there were words to be said, not really. Team seven had been a disaster from the get go and she wasn’t sure how much of that was her sensei’s fault, but he certainly hadn’t helped much. 

“I’m not sure Naruto will agree.” He said eventually, but his tone wasn’t condemning. It was just tired. Kakashi looked tired. If Sakura was aware of the whispers about them then no doubt he was too, and he’d already suffered once before from the scorn of the village. He’d worried for her, worried she wouldn’t handle the mistreatment well. It had cost him his father, and in a way the village had already cost him one student – Sasuke's betrayal had come from being let down by this village, abandoned as a boy himself. Kakashi had sometimes wondered if Sasuke ever should have graduated, given how volatile he was. 

Given how easy to manipulate he was. 

Thinking about it now though did nothing to help. It was far too late for that, and Sakura wasn’t here to think about the past even if he was. It was the future that mattered now; their future actions, and how they wanted to handle this from here. 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Tsunade watched them silently as they entered her office, as Sakura once again stepped forward to speak. She said nothing until her newest apprentice had finished, letting the words rest for a moment before she turned to Kakashi. 

“You agree with her?” 

He only nodded his head, eyes still cast down. Sasuke’s defection was being laid partially at his feet, as a failure of his teaching. That he’d taught the unstable boy his own personal technique made it worse – he'd all but declared Sasuke his own apprentice with that act, so for Sasuke to leave as a traitor, and so soon after, showed Kakashi as having poor judgment at best. 

Still, Kakashi was known for his loyalty to the village and his precious people, though few earned it. For him to allow this, even if he couldn’t speak the words himself, was significant. 

“I’ll have his status changed to kill on sight.” Tsunade informed seriously. “Naruto likely won’t forgive you, but to be honest the Uchiha’s actions have earned him that order several times over. Even if he was returned to us, his situation would be extremely dire. His only use to us would be as a sealed, unwilling donor to rekindle the Uchiha clan. This makes things much simpler, and safer long-term.” Keeping an unwilling prisoner was more hassle than it was worth, usually. 

The Hokage leaned back in her seat, heaving a sigh now that the worst of it was over. “I’ll send a letter to Naruto.” She said, not looking forward to that in the slightest. “And Jiraiya too.” Naruto had a habit of taking things as a challenge, she didn’t expect him to accept her words in the slightest. “Expect a message from him yourselves, or write one and I’ll send it to them as well. I doubt he’ll be willing to understand but Jiraiya will do what he can.” The Sannin understood what it was to have a team mate betray them after all. To have to accept eventually, that there was no redeeming their friend, that he’d gone too far and even if Orochimaru had been amenable, the village could not just welcome him back after his actions. 

“I’ll write to him too.” Sakura answered, unhappy but still holding on to the nerve that had gotten her here. “I’ll explain it to him as best I can.” She didn’t want her remaining team mate to hate her, but she also didn’t want him to die for a boy who would kill him, all of them, if they let him. 

“Bring me the letter by tomorrow morning, I’ll send them then.” Tsunade instructed, dismissing them both. The remnants of Team Seven left in a blink, leaving Tsunade alone in her office to pull out a hidden jug of sake. 

“Team seven.” She sighed, downing a sip from the bottle. “Too much like us. What a shit show.” 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

The letters were sent the next morning, and Sakura received no reply. In truth she didn’t get much mail from Naruto anyway, but what little she did get stopped abruptly. 

The day that Sasuke was killed while out with his new team from Sound, Sakura was summoned to the Hokage tower to be informed. Hearing how he had a new team, how he’d killed two Konoha ninja who had been out on a mission when the Oto team interfered... she wasn’t sure how she felt. Numb, mostly, but not as upset as she thought she would have been. 

Kakashi had heard and then left immediately, probably to the memorial stone in all likelihood, not that Uchiha Sasuke’s name would ever be placed upon it. Sakura remained in Tsunade’s office a few moments longer, but all she managed was a “Thanks for letting me know.” Honestly, he’d been gone from her life for longer than he’d been in a team with her by now. He may have been a big part of her pre-genin days, but as a ninja... Sakura wasn’t a little girl anymore, and part of that meant losing some of those ideals, ideals which Sasuke had never shared with them anyway. 

“I hope Naruto takes it okay.” But he’d been gone just as long, and still hadn’t sent her a message. He was still her team mate, her friend, and so was Kakashi. She would be loyal to them both, adhere to the team nindo, even if Naruto could never forgive her. 

With that in mind Sakura left the Hokage’s office for the shopping district before she had to return to her rounds. Loyalty to her friends, her team, that was the most important thing. She’d moved on from the hurt that Sasuke had left, and her actions had meant there would be no happy ending for Team seven with Sasuke, so Kakashi likely wasn’t too happy with her either. He was still team though, and he only one she could do anything about. The least she could do was show him that she was here if needed, even if it was just to provide him with some home-cooked bentos. 

Being part of a team meant something more than a title or name. It was the actions you took, the bonds that formed, the feelings expressed. Sakura was part of Kakashi’s team. The actions she took should reflect that bond. 

Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Sasuke had been given ample opportunity, but he had abandoned them. That was all there was to it.


End file.
